cable company dvr and replay

[rothkatz]

So I've shut down my replay for about a month now and I've been trying out the Time Warner (TWC) PVR. I love the ability to record two shows at once and watch another, but as discussed before the funcionality of TWC's PVR just sucks, and of course no poopli. This is one of the times I wish I had a tivo because I could just use it as a VCR, but since I have a replay and I just dropped a 250 GB drive in there I want to start using it again

I'm wondering if anyone is using a PVR from their cable provider in conjunction with replay. If you did could you tell me how you set it up. I don't feel like I'll be able to use the replay remote to control all the funcionality of my cable companys PVR.

thanks in advance for any advice

[SpaceCadet]

Some people like pricey universal remotes, but I find that most devices are sufficiently different that I just use each device's remote. Also, I find that most IR code libraries are wrong (my Panasonic DMR-E80HPS remote is the *only* non-Sony remote of any type that I've ever used that correctly supports my Sony TV, but of course the TV remote has more functionality). I assume that you're using the Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 8000 from TWC. If you want to record the digital channels on your ReplayTV, I recommend using (renting from TWC) one of the non-PVR cable boxes, as it's impractical to use the SA 8000 as a digital tuner for other devices. The primary advantage of the SA 8000 is the ability to directly record the MPEG-2 streams of the digital channels. Even though I don't have an HDTV, if I can get most of the shows that are filling up my SA 8000's drive off, I'm going to look into swapping it for the HD version, because the SA 8000's hardware is too anemic (and the HD version should have a higher-capacity drive). The SA 8000 generally has worse scheduling options than the Replay, but it is better at recording a show that gets moved to a completely different time slot.

[TheDreamer]

Well, tell your ReplayTV that you receive all the same channels you get on the TWC box....and use the ReplayTV's search features to find the stuff you want to record and then schedule them on the DVR.

Its a little bit tricky if you use themes and zones...but... Now where is manual recording on the DVR? I want to record the Olympics in HD, but zap2it is giving the NBC's SD schedule for the HD channel (even though zap2it generates the schedule for the nbcolympics site).

The SA8000HD (8010) is faster than the SD version....don't recall the old specs, but it has a faster CPU and more memory, I think.

I use the regular SD STB with my ReplayTV....

The Dreamer.

[jones07]

I split my cable line coming in. I'm useing the Mot 6208 for HD recordeing only an 5040 for everything else.

Note: I been a replaytv users for 3 years now, so I'm bias. I hate the 6208 UI. I only had it for 3 days now but imo......the functionality an features of the 6208 is a huge drop off from my 5040's. , But it records HD an pass like DD 5.1 like a champ. When the duel tuner 6212 hit the street. I may finally have to pull my rptv out of service.. My entertainment center is overflowing an something must go. just like 2 years ago I pulled my S-VHS out of there...................So too rptv.

D&M, any cable-card HD dvr boxes in the future ? Mr Big, you can PM me I willl not tell anyone ;)

[st63z]

Originally posted by SpaceCadet
I assume that you're using the Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 8000 from TWC. If you want to record the digital channels on your ReplayTV, I recommend using (renting from TWC) one of the non-PVR cable boxes, as it's impractical to use the SA 8000 as a digital tuner for other devices. The primary advantage of the SA 8000 is the ability to directly record the MPEG-2 streams of the digital channels. Even though I don't have an HDTV, if I can get most of the shows that are filling up my SA 8000's drive off, I'm going to look into swapping it for the HD version, because the SA 8000's hardware is too anemic (and the HD version should have a higher-capacity drive).Hi, are there other reasons why it's impractical to use the SA 8000(HD)/8300(HD) as a regular digital cable tuner for the RTV? The reasons I've read include:

- shuts down (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=477911) 1-6am nightly and thus needs manual wake-up until there's a software update

- no IR Blaster (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=450783) code support for the 8000 (but 8300 works)

Our old Motorola DCT2224 plain digital tuners have worked fine with our RTV 45xx's. I'd hoped that the SA 8000/8300 models would at least work as well as the Motorola, in regards to serving as digital tuners for the RTV...

[egb]

I got the comcast/motorola dvr 6212 which is a nice unit and tried to set it up with the IR code and wasn't able to, then while trying to find the right codes some posts here alerted me to some other the issues, if you are recording with replay and then want to watch something else on the moto dvr it will change the replay recording as well.. so as suggested I split the signal and now I have actually 3 channels going... to record or watch. I use the replay for what the internal tuner can handle and the moto dvr for the rest... so far so good. The quality on the moto dvr is great but the commercial advance is too important to give up.

[st63z]

Interesting, I didn't know Motorola also makes a cable DVR box (I wonder why many TWC locations seem to use the SA DVR model, even though for the non-DVR boxes they've been using mostly Motorola brand I think). Does your 6212 have dual tuners too, egb?

Anyways I also have the basic cable feeds going directly to my Replay's internal tuner like you...

But I'm a bit confused though, because simultaneous recording of different digital channels by both my SA DVR cable box and my Replay also seem to work? I'll paste my other post below:
From: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4958271#post4958271Because the [SA 8300HD] cable box is needed to select the channels, it is not possible to record different programs on [SA] and Replay simultaneously. However the [SA] box has two tuners so you can record two programs on the [SA] box whilst watching something on the Replay. I'd hoped that two tuners would mean being able to record on both [SA] and Replay simultaneously, but this doesn't seem possible.Hmm that's strange, it seems to work fine for me?? If the SA box is in the middle of recording something and the Replay changes the channel (via IR Blaster) to record something else for itself, the 2nd tuner on the SA box seems to be automatically used for the Replay so that there's no interference. Similarly, if the Replay is in the middle of recording a digital channel (from SA), and the SA box itself needs to start recording another channel, the SA recording seems to happen in the background via the 2nd tuner, without actually changing the foreground channel that's being recorded by the Replay.

Am I wrong, or perhaps your SA box doesn't work the same way?

[MikeSM]

I have 2 modified 5040's (with lots of extra disk in each), and 1 is hooked to my 6412 HD DVR from Comcast via S-video. It's a bit of a kludge, but works pretty well.

1) The 6412 is dual tuner, so I tell it to record HD programming, and if the replay tells it to tune to another channel it'll keep recording the HD program on 1 tuner, and feed the 5040 the other program.

2) I will often record the same program in HD on the Replay as well as the 6412, as I can play back the replay program on xboxes, the other 5040, or DVarchive equipped PC's elsewhere in the house.

The 6412 is nice, but it doesn't network, and you can't extract programming from it, and you also can't add storage to it yet.

3) Even HD looks good on the replay when recorded via S-video. It's really not that bad at all.

Thanks,
Mike

[st63z]

Sounds great :) How big is the HDD on the Motorola 6412 I'm curious? The Sci-Atl 8300HD has 160GB.

Do you also have to pay Comcast 3 monthly fees ($5-10 each):
- rental of cable box
- enabling the DVR function of the cable box
- getting access to HD channels

Anyways the 8300HD also can't network or extract the video files. Sci-Atl's site does list 8300 & 8300HD Multi-Room (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/consumers_new/CableBoxes/8300HDMR.htm) models, but I'm not sure if they refer to separate models or just a function that can be enabled by the cable operator for existing 8300 & 8300HD boxes. I could be wrong but supposedly one 8300 DVR "server" can playback to as many as 4 other non-DVR SA boxes simultaneously (even while recording 2 channels at the same time), by actually adding its own channel to the cable feed (I assume by some complex 2-way communication with the cable operator headend)!

The 8300HD box also has a Serial ATA port (and a "VCR" specialized output that's supposed to hide the menus), but I'm not sure if either one is active.

[MaxH]

Anyone with the 6412 notice that if it's recording and the Replay is recording, you can't WATCH any recorded shows on the 6412 or the playback will be recorded on your Replay? That's kinda annoying.

So is there any way around this, or is it basically, you can't watch recorded material on the 6412 if both red lights are on?

[barmar]

Originally posted by MaxH
Anyone with the 6412 notice that if it's recording and the Replay is recording, you can't WATCH any recorded shows on the 6412 or the playback will be recorded on your Replay? That's kinda annoying.

So is there any way around this, or is it basically, you can't watch recorded material on the 6412 if both red lights are on?

If the output of the 6412 is going to the ReplayTV, then this is to be expected. ReplayTV will record whatever is coming out of the 6412; if it's a recorded show, that's what ReplayTV will see.

[MaxH]

Originally posted by barmar
If the output of the 6412 is going to the ReplayTV, then this is to be expected. ReplayTV will record whatever is coming out of the 6412; if it's a recorded show, that's what ReplayTV will see.

Yeah, it threw me because the second tuner that records in HD doesn't display, so I failed to differentiate that one is always "hidden" and one is always displayed, and the Replay is recording whatever is displayed.

Oh, and I've programmed my Harmony to control the 6412, and Harmony's database has a 30-second skip code, so it's a little more bearable. If only I could jump ahead X number of minutes too, that would make skipping commercials even easier, and it would be giving my Replay a real run for the money.

[mflanagan]

[QUOTE=jones07]I split my cable line coming in. I'm useing the Mot 6208 for HD recordeing only an 5040 for everything else.[/QUOTE]


If I split my cable do I have to use another cable box or can I go directly into the replay?

My wife does not want to give up the familiar Replay interface, but I want the ability to record HD.

Thanks
Flan

[burger23]

You can't have both in one place. After you split the signal, you have to program each box (RTV and Motorola) independently. I personally use the Motorola box to record the first 2 shows in any time slot-that way I get high-deninition content. Then, if there are more shows in that time slot, I record them on the RTV, using the analog channel. I also use the RTV to record many of the same shows as the Motorola (on the analog channel)-purely as a back up in case the Motorola fails to record.

[jesup]

You can download shows from a 6412 over firewire (with current firmware now, you couldn't initially - check the local threads under local HD programming here, and maybe the long-running DCT6208/6412 thread). No network access.

Our 6208 died and was replaced by a 6412, which has a newer/better UI - though it still sucks.

6208 - 80GB disk. 6412 - 120GB disk. Note that for digital programming (HD or not) it records bitstreams. For HD that will be 12-19 Mbps, or roughly 5-9GB/hr. For SD digital channels it will typically be 1-3GB/hr, depending on how much the compress it. I'm not sure of the compression ratio for SD analog, but I'm guessing it's roughly the equivalent of "High" or around 3GB/hr.

I have a replay fed off the svideo of the 6412. This works, though I can't really set it to record things itself, since my father-in-law is often watching and gets very confused when the TV does things on it's own (and he happily switches it back to what he wants to watch). Also, he always turns off the cable box when he's done, so the Replay can't tune any channels. I can record on the 6412 and later start a playback while setting the Replay to record current live video (though a little painful). I've used that to transfer a few shows.

Probably I need to split the cable and let the Replay mostly work off the cable, with the second input being the 6412. The downside is I will mostly lose the "record on another ReplayTV" capability, since that depends on similar channel maps - but that's not a massive issue for me. It may also confuse DVArchive, I'm not sure. Or make that the "Replay of last resort" for recording - use it for playback - and record on other Replays (which is what i'm doing now). Right now all recording is done on the Replay in the bedroom which is attached to a DCT5100 (HD, non-DVR) box. I'm about to set up another Replay in a much less-used room and use it for secondary recording.

[cvilla3]

I'm on TW Cable and have 4 Replays (2x 5040's and 2x 5504's) and a TW SA DVR. 3 of the Replay's have direct cable hooked up to them since most of the shows I'm recording and plan to burn to DVD are on the analog channels (chnls 1 thru approx 76). I have one Replay hooked up to a cable box with an IR blaster to record the occasional digital channel show.
I'm primarily using the TW DVR to record shows that I'll watch once and erase. For those few times when 4 Replays aren't enough I have the TW DVR hooked up via S-Video to one of the Replays and set up a manual record to copy shows off of the TW DVR.